Myth of Creation.Aca-Santerran beliefs are based on the
following myth of the divine Twins Fekhath (Silence and Truth) and Faenwo
(Creation and Hope) who formed the world when fighting each other:

"A long time ago
the Twins Fekhath and Faenwo fought for the dominance in an empty universe which
their mother Marjalla (the time) said will be once filled with incredible
sources of power and lesser beings needing their guidance. As both brothers
argued over the way how to split up the universe and how to await the arriving
of these lesser beings both fell into rage and started to fight each other. Soon
the void was filled with their blood forming clouds and spheres of matter and
energy but the brothers didn't cease to fight. They summoned powerful creatures
from the depths of their own souls to fight each other and soon the whole
universe was set on fire. The matter was
forming huge sparkling masses in space and the energy was flowing through it.
The Twins gave more and more of their powers to their fighting spirits and
summoned even more minions to kill each other. Slowly a huge mass was forming
occasionally reshaped by the powers of the battle and by the energies around it.
The sparkling spheres called 'stars' were circulating around it. The mass turned
into a disc with mountains and valleys, oceans and magma but the brothers
continued to fight. And after another eon the first being emerged from this
plane of existence looking down on a chaotic landscape. It looked up to search
for its possible origin but it was futile! Hanging dead in the sky were two
spheres of destruction enlightening the world. The Twins were dead..."

-- "The Chronicles of the Elder", Library of the Temple of
Barkhas, Altyr

The
consequences of this mythological story are recounted by Merdocan the Blue from
the Library of the Temple of
Barkhas in Altyr:

"At the moment
the Twins died the armies of both ceased the fight shocked about what just had
happened. The Twins gave too much power away and grew mortal, able to be killed.
In their confusion and pain the great warriors pleaded Marjalla for guidance but
she remained silent. So as the Gods saw that lesser beings were crawling over
the surface of a worn out world they decided that when these are the beings
Marjalla ordered her children to guide they themselves as the next higher beings
in place have to fullify the fate. They went to the world beneath them and took
land to rule and form and gathered the people around them to guide them. Barkhas
ordered the snake Ulieth to encircle the world to hinder the
waters and drifting lands from falling
into the Void and breaking apart.
Angus forged the sky to capture the air and Narvi fixed the lands onto the
bottom of the sea and forged the plane the world is based on."

--"The True Path" by Merdocan the Blue, The Library of the Temple of Barkhas,
Altyr

It is said that with the
death of the children Majalla withdrew into the
Void that
surrounds the world and only the Aca-Tar, her loyal followers and the Aerynian,
their servants, remained to establish the order
Majalla has meant this place to be. And only the Aca-Tar and the Aerynians are
meant to travel the
Void beyond
the world.

Deities.The
Santerrans differ in their worldview
between two general kinds of Gods, the Aca-Tar and the Aerynians. The Aca-Tar
are seen as the High Gods of the world who took the reign of the world after the
departure of Majalla. They're the most powerful forces in the world and command
the Aerynians who fulfill certain tasks to make the world work as it is. However
as the Aca-Tar and the Aerynians are both descendants from the fight between the
Twingods they as all creatures in the world suffer from the failure of the
Twingods and are in a way not perfect, not omniscient and not omnipotent. Thus
they forged a great hierarchy to keep the world in balance and split the
responsibilities among each other.

The Aca-Tar (High Gods). These powerful beings - in
the belief of the Santerrans - rule the
world and keep it in balance. In the
Santerrans belief they as much rule over certain elements of life as over
certain territories of the world. Barkhas is in their
eyes the preserver of the world and the strongest God because it is him who
keeps the oceans of the world together. The Aca-Tar are androgynous entities and
the most unaffected by the war that destroyed the Twingods though often they're
referred to with gender because of the way these gods appear to most mortals.

Barkhas,
Lord of the Thundering DepthsBarkhas
is worshipped as the protector of the kingdom of
Aca-Santerra and as the Lord over all
oceans of the world and the lands that swim on them. Legends tell that he once
led the ancestors of the Santerrans to the shores of the islands that became the
homelands of the Santerrans.

Barkhas reigns the depths of
the sea and the coasts of all lands bordering his ocean. For the safety of the
kingdom every year many sacrifices and prayingsare done at his main sanctuary "Aca-Wyr" which is said
to be the top of his legendary sea palace. In water the Santerrans
see the blood of the world as the water
bows and bends and changes at every moment.

Angus,
Lord of the Winds
Angus is second only to Barkhas.
He obeys to noone and rules everything from the
mountain peaks to the farthest end of the skies. All birds are at his command as
he can blow the winds to any direction and any speed.

He is seen as the protector of Altyr which is his main sanctuary as well. The
temple is famous for the "Windsingers" who are said to have power over birds,
the winds and even the storms.

Retarra, Goddess of FireIn ancient times she was mainly
worshipped as the Goddess over the hearth fire and the
home but later developed into the Goddess of Smithing
and Craftsmanship and soonafter into the Goddess of
Wisdom and science. In many ways she is said to inspire the mortals and
generation for generation reveal more to those that seek to understand the world
around them. Today you could say that she is the Goddess of the Mind, most
interested in educating the mortal beings and giving them means of protection.

Her sanctuary is the vulcano on the island of Jarka. The "Firedancers", the
priesthood of Retarra, is said to have the powers to control the
fire in many ways and ignite the hearts and
minds of any around them.

Narvi,
God of the Lands
Narvi is the God of the Lands, the Earth and anything
prospering on it. He is the Beastmaster as well as the Tender
of the Forests and the Lord
of the Mountains. He secured
the lands which swam freely on the oceans and made them stable islands of life
capable to compete with the realm
Barkhas created undersea.

Thalisien, the Dreamstalker
No temples and only few people worship this God in rituals though he is among
the strongest of the Aca-Tar. But where most Aca-Tar took a seat in the various
parts of the world his interest lies not in shaping the world but determining
its fate. Thus he is travelling in the void outside the world to seek for
knowledge far away from Caelereth. He is even said to council Majalla who has left
the world on the death of the Twingods. In his role he is alone, without the
many followers other Aca-Tar have aquired among the lesser Gods he only seeks
those he needs to talk to.

In the eyes of the Santerrans he has the power of foresight and the few mortals
he blesses with his spirit are known to be outstanding seers among
men. He has
no sanctuary in a temple but it is said that sometimes when great things arise
he steps into someone's dreams to tell about the future that will be coming.

Mari,
Goddess of the Underworld
Mari is seen as a Goddess that lures in the dark corners of anyone's mind. She
is the Mistress of the Dreams and Desires and in that matter
can haunt
the mortals and torture them with incredible cruelness. She is said to oppose
Thalisien who seeks the truth of the world's fate and wants to change it
instead. Like him she is not worshipped in many great temples but is still
respected as a powerful Aca-Tar who might fulfill one's dreams...or destroy you. Insanity is often seen as sign that one was touched by
this Goddess.

Mari was an Aca-Tar who was not worshipped by the
Santerrans till they conquered
some of the Murmillion tribes and was not recognized as one of the Highgods
before the Year of Darkness. In that year she also became a new aspect. Beyond
her devastating beauty and her cruelity in betraying one's heart but she earned
also one positive aspect: She is also the Goddess of Hope, waking ones lowest
instincts to prevail when even the mind has given up everything.

The
Aerynians (Lesser Gods). Following the Aca-Tar in the hierarchy and
serving one of the Highgods in certain aspects of their realms are the Aerinaen.
They're usually represented as the children of the Aca-Tar and are closer to the
mortals though themselves still to be considered nearly immortal. Other than the
Aca-Tar they usually have a distinctive gender and serve the Aca-Tar as their
followers in the world, sometimes even showing themselves as messengers to the
mortals. The relations of these lesser deities often reflect the hierarchies in
which the Santerran see the world to work in.

Most Aerynians are somehow aligned to a certain Aca-Tar, most even seen as their
children, but as they're many they'll be explained in conjunction to the Highgod
they serve.

The Wergan. The Wergan are another part of the
etherial order of the world. They appear in different shapes and sizes and their
agendas are even more complex than those of the Aerynians. They obey to the
orders of the higher order and often appear to accomplish certain tasks to them.
The kinds known as high
demons to the Santharians are seen as Wergans but also so
immensly powerful beings as Ulieth, the mythical snake encircling the world
with its body. The Wergan are often prayed to as they're the most likely to do
the mortals a favour - for a price. In many rites they are meant to protect
houses from fire, warriors in battle and bring health to the ill. The success in
these issues is of course varied as the Wergan cover all facets of characters
the mortal races show.

Legends. The
Santerran myths and legends
evolving around all the Aca-Tar and in even greater complexity and length around
the Aerynians are too many to count. Many historical events are explained in
Santerran mythology with the presence
of one or the other high being. Great tales and small ones are told throughout
the High Kingdom all displaying the existence of the divine, but also its
failures and the failures of men.

However, the most important legends are those around Thalisien and Mari who are
said to continue the dispute of the Twingods on a different scale drawing all
the Aca-Tar in the intrigues and matters of the world.